BUDDHA IN THE MUD is a blog – a living book based on the Dzogchen teachings. Our teacher is life, and life is karma. In this way, Dzogchen is practical – no bells and whistles required.

Effortlessness And Effort

To realise our true essence of pure consciousness takes no effort at all;
we let go of all presumptions, and just be.
It’s so simple, it’s hard to believe! 😀

Even though we may realise our true reality,
showing concern and listening to others is challenging,
and takes effort.

Being a theorist-therapist is only playing at being a friend.
Genuine empathy is sharing.

The more we remember our true essence,
the more compassion cuts through ignorance.

If we want to know which path to take,
we look at the people.

Are they high-minded, which takes no effort?
Or is there true compassion, which takes effort?

Enlightenment Isn’t ‘Up There’

Enlightenment isn’t ‘up there’.
It’s right here, right now.

We only have to uncover the elaborations
which add complexity and doubt,
and divide wholeness.

Handing Over Control To Others

It’s your life, not theirs.
If you choose to live their life,
you have to accept the consequences.
They don’t.

Sorting Your Self Out

We may not like what we do or say; we mean well but this well-meaning doesn’t express itself properly, and we become unable to communicate in the way we’d like. This can be even more frustrating when others lack the ability to communicate too.

Our self is a concoction – a mixture of various ingredients, an elaborate fabricated story. It is a history of memories in the mind, all of which are observed by consciousness. When we finally realise that we are that consciousness, we can sort our self out. 🙂 Actually, our self sorts us out, as it shows us our karmic tendencies.

Look after your self,
and your self will look after you.

How?!

Your self is your karma
that teaches you – consciousness – how to become enlightened
by knowing what to drop, and when to drop it.

God & God

There are two paths:
one is a belief in an external God the creator,
while the other is our supreme being of pure consciousness,
which is the wisdom of natural law.

A belief in God requires intercessors,
while the other is direct realisation of what we ultimately are.

All arguments about whether there is a God or not
are meant to divide and confuse.

Pure consciousness is barely present,
without any elaborations.

Connecting And Disconnecting

Connecting with others who feel the same way about a problem enriches life, but this is rare. Even when we do connect, a disconnect then occurs as our background experiences tailor what we do about the problem that we see.

These background experiences are our filters – our karmic tendencies which have different levels – and it is that which creates the disconnect, depending on the levels of hope and fear being generated.

The more we cut through our hopes and fears,
the less we ignore any problem.

Your Mind Is Lying To You

All that is in our mind is memories of information; this is not actual reality. The mind is a filter that we impose on every moment. This information that we have gathered is our karmic characteristic, and wanting recognition for being able to remember selected information is only pride. The truth is in the living situation now. One size does not fit all!

We may read that, if we have a leaky tap, we need to change the cartridge. Having pride in our information, we then tell others that that’s what they need to do. But when it comes to buying a new cartridge, it turns out that there are umpteen sizes, so we have to take the old cartridge out and actually measure all the parts. And voila, no drip! But this doesn’t mean the dripping tap upstairs can have the same cartridge.

The mind has the general idea, but not actual knowledge.
True knowledge starts from not ‘knowing’ and, at that point,
knowingness is present because there is questioning.

Knowingness is what consciousness is,
and through meditation,
consciousness is realised as what we are.

Through deeper meditation, we drop the meditation,
and consciousness is realised as emptiness.

We now have no fear of drips.
😀

Why Do We Perceive Things So Differently?

We choose to select different aspects of a message based on what interests us or has influenced us, and what we consider to be important. This background is the basis of our understanding anything – in other words, it’s karma.

How we perceive comes down to levels of understanding; in Sanskrit, levels are called ‘Yanas’, which means vehicle. It is so easy to talk at cross-purposes and misunderstand each other, because we’re actually speaking about different subjects without realising it.

Talk about absolute reality can be misunderstood by relating to relative reality.

Absolute reality is pure experience, while resting in pure perception now.
Relative reality is how we relate to everything – our reactions now.

Even when we may agree, there will be subtle differences in approach. This, in truth, is our actual uniqueness. Krishna, Buddha, Jesus … all enlightened ones realised pure consciousness, but each expressed this to suit the situation.

Levels Of Awareness … Continued

Being aware:
aware of whatever we are doing.

Being aware of being aware:
meditation.

Being awareness itself:
our original reality.

Awareness follows where attention goes. Whatever awareness focuses on, it becomes. This is why, in meditation, we first focus on the breath as it calms activity in the mind and body.

However, this is also why we become distracted and confused about our original reality. When awareness identifies as a gender, race, culture, religion, class … we lose our original reality in favour of focusing on a status, playing a part like an actor. Professional actors play many parts; we, as individuals, adopt one part, and that is our lot for life.

Awareness comes from consciousness.
When consciousness adopts a part, that part is called ‘self’.

When consciousness rests in its original, uncontaminated reality,
inner peace is maintained.

What Is The Purpose Of Life?

Our definitions may differ. That’s okay, as we all have our individual story to unwrap.

Throughout life, we conformed to others’ standards, which may not be totally satisfactory but we put up with it as we don’t know anything better. After years of so-called ‘spiritual’ endeavour, the answer may be, “Not this, not this”. Everyone is just mimicking a doctrine of some sort, which might be clever but is uninspiring.

Why?
Monkey see, monkey do
– but does monkey know?
🙂

When we stop following – or rather, believing – there is a wobbly moment where we are on our own. We may give up and go back to others’ standards, or give up and really let go. Change occurs when we come to a conclusion through testing the essence of teachings, rather than relying on make-believe. We have every right to challenge the teachings. It’s why the Buddha said, “Don’t take my word for it; test it.” When we realise that we cannot come up with anything better, the relief is beyond words!

To say ‘pure consciousness’ again is pointless;
it’s more being the moment, rather than being in the moment.
And that sounds like a cliché. 🙂

People can make all sorts of claims, but the moment of knowing is the key: it cannot be pretentious.
It is not something we can claim in order to be admired, but is a knowingness that becomes more and more precise.

All We Need To Know

All we need to know is what we are, and then everything makes sense.
We are pure consciousness.
Everything else – including self – is an illusion.

Pure consciousness knows. Mind repeats memories. Brain stores. Body carries. Life is karma.

Karma teaches us the way home to pure enlightenment. By realising our mistakes, we learn. Our biggest mistake is believing what we are, as opposed to knowing what we are.

Self is an intellectual construct, where everything is believed to be real and everlasting. As we get older, life becomes shorter, and it’s easier to see the revolving illusions and their effects.

Do not believe in the Buddha or any teacher; realise what they meant. Belief is the trap, and is the reason why we only live in hope.

The Buddha realised the Vedas = not two.
That is here, right now.
It’s all we need to know.
Appearance and realisation are simultaneous.

Mere belief makes us seem foolish.
In realisation, illusions speak to us.

Having A Good View

Having a good view is having a clear view, with no obstructions, no mental commentary, no taking sides of likes and dislikes. We may have a preference, but we’re never obsessed because we recognise our reactions keep us bound, ignoring intuitive insight.

This insight frees us from worry. When encountering a scary situation (such as sitting with religious people :D), we can either run away, stay and bear it, or just let it wash over us like water off a duck’s back.

We should be grateful that we have changed.
🙂

Too Much Information

Information isn’t knowledge.
Information is belief.
Knowledge is experience.

Too much information cuts our capacity and our ability to digest properly. When we intellectualise, we lose the simple joy and reality of life.

All the information we need is within.
Empty consciousness asks, “What’s this?”

Each situation explains everything. The tap leaks, the electricity switch trips, the lawn-mower cuts out … all they need is systematic attention.

Dealing with emotions is the same. We again have to look systematically at the effect and the cause. Too much information makes us go in all directions at once, and creates confusion.

Nothing Will Make Us Happy

There are, of course, two ways of looking at this statement. We are either never satisfied, always looking for something better, or we realise that the emptiness of phenomena and self are totally satisfying.

How can that be? We can enjoy by letting go, without holding on to anything.
As pure (empty) consciousness, we are happy for no reason, a happiness that does not rely on conditions.

If We Want To Be Special, We Lose

In the cult of celebrity, we trust in an inner circle to feel special, rather than relying on ordinary, direct experience. When we defer our reality to others, we lose. Lost in false euphoria, we learn the right words to repeat, but there is no meaningful insight.

Being nothing ‘special’, we are free.
We are no longer reliant on a name or system,
as this merely limits our ability to cope on our own.

There are two doors.
One door leads to a happy cosy place, and the other opens to all our raw karma.
Which one leads to enlightenment?

Humans Are Natural Addicts

We can all be enthusiastic devotees.
Evil and Goodness both know this.
Can Evil and Goodness both be addictive?

Addiction is an intense urge to engage in behaviour providing immediate sensory rewards. This is obvious when considering evil, but what of goodness? They are the same; we can be addicted to meditational practices or gurus, or even to giving advice, and this is exactly why, in the Dharma, we are advised to drop any realisation. 😀

In this way, we remain spontaneous pure consciousness.

This is “Stayin’ Alive!”
Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!
😀

The Words Or The Meaning?

What is more important,
the journey (words) or arriving (the meaning)?

Or the meaning of the meaning?
Once we experience and realise the meaning,
the result is empathetic compassion.

That is when we know the meaning
of the words.

The Sad Truth

The truth is that which is constant, like a straight line. It is the direct perception of consciousness, without contaminating presumptions.We are this pure consciousness and, as such, nothing special. Our problem is that we want to be something special, someone different, and it is this that causes suffering.

The release from suffering is realising what we are,
rather than what we are told and accept.
That release is the experience of joy.

When we sit down after a period of hard labour, we feel relaxed. Now, consider a lifetime of anxiety suddenly lifted –that is some relief! We no longer feel we have to follow the stereotypical ways that created our anxiety in the first place. How often have I spoken to spiritual teachers and asked, “Do I have to be like them?”? 🙂

Sadness is a heavy heart that restricts.
Through empathy, we feel it in others.

Idealism is a representation of truth, rather than the actual reality; it is a mental construct. It assumes that perception is reality, when the reality is consciousness behind the perception. Therefore idealism romanticises and is unrealistic.

What is more important, the journey (words) or arriving (the meaning)?

Hope and fear freeze us.
Wisdom frees us.
😀

The Cheese In The Trap

Following a ‘name’
rather than practising the meaning of the teaching,
we fall into the trap of addiction.

Escaping the trap:
through empathy, we know the traps we all fall into.

This is in no way an attempt to offend cheese.
I like cheese, but don’t want to become addicted.
😀

There Is Nothing For A Creator To Do

If the universe is infinite,
why would there be a creator?

The infinite universe is home for infinite conscious beings,
commensurate with their karmic tendencies.

This consciousness is pure,
and needs no physical universe.